Review – Deus Ex: Human Revolution (XBOX 360)

Back in 2000 Edios Interactive with Ion Storm Inc. launched the first-person shooter action role playing game, Deus Ex and now the guys have followed it up with a new addition in the franchise called Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Before I continue with the review I would like to say that the first Deus Ex will always be a legend mainly because it introduced gamers to something which was quite new during those times. However, this does not mean that Human Revolution is a blunder as I felt it was a rather well made sequel (although based in the past from Deus EX), filled with excitement but includes some disappointments. Read our entire review for more on Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

The game takes place in the future well you may have already figured it out, but to be specific it is based during a time where the people has discovered human augmentations. Hence, there are people who are being augmented mainly because they have no other option, then there are those who just find it cool and finally there are people who completely oppose the whole idea of human augmentation.

You play Adam Jensen and as the story progresses you become a part of a global conspiracy spinning around the entire human augmentation industry. Adam himself works as chief security with company which is not just experimenting augmentation technology but is also in the business of augmenting people. The company is called Sarif Industries and the reason Adam’s working there is because of his past with Megan Reed, a character around whom the story mainly revolves. Things soon go little haywire at the company, Reed is dead and Mr. Jensen is heavily wounded hence gets augmented, that is the brief.

After six months Adam Jensen is back and it is now time to search for the guys who attacked Sarif Industries. This search leads to the big conspiracy and a lot of mysteries are revealed as you progress. It takes place across various cities in the future world as the main plot leads you there. These cities also include few side missions which are an interesting play. These aren’t really big quests, but rather short ones which have several angles to it, different outcomes and a variety of ways to complete it. Some of them also help you with your main plot. This is also true to an extent for main quests as there are simply various routes and methods you can use to complete the stage. This is one of the key aspects of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and also one of the most interesting things about the game.

Another important thing in this game is your augmentations which mainly determine how you would progress in the game. There are a variety of augmentations to choose from and they can also be unlocked or upgraded using Praxis points. You get Praxis points as you proceed in the game and gain experience. These augments unlock abilities like picking up heavy objects, improving your hacking skills or going invisible to quickly sneak past enemies. As I said before there is a variety of these to choose from which I would like you to discover, but of course you can’t have them all.

Mainly, it is either stealth or its straight-up shooting action, the choice is yours. However there are also times where you can just speak your way out to get some things done and once again the augments help you decided which path to take. Personally, one of the biggest disappointment in the game were the boss fights which hardly need any of the skills you have gained so far but is purely face to face combat and this may increase the annoyance levels of those who preferred the stealth way.

The graphics again are decent but not the best, and other characters who are mainly dressed in some futuristic cyber designer outfits seem very lifeless while chatting up with them. The world is mainly painted yellow and we really wish the guys could have done some better graphics. I found the voice acting to be quite lame, they could have probably worked a bit more harder to get this right. Another annoyance is the epically long load times.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude saying that the game is mainly not as good as Deus Ex from 2000, however it is something you should be playing. It has great replay value mainly due to the freedom which you have in every mission and the numerous ways you can reach then end which has four different endings depending on the choice you make. Even thought the graphics didn’t do well, the game has a decent story and solid gameplay.

Details

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Edios Montreal

Genre: First-Person Shooter RPG

Available: PC, XBOX 360 and PS3

*I reviewed Deus Ex: Human Revolution Limited Edition copy for the Xbox 360. The game was purchased by myself and was played at normal difficulty till the end*